A US woman who shot and killed her husband and two adult children before taking her own life is thought to have committed the shocking crime as a result of being ostracised from the religion she was raised in.

A federal judge sentenced a former Arkansas judge Wednesday to five years in prison — a stiffer punishment than prosecutors recommended — after he admitted giving young male defendants lighter sentences in return for personal benefits that included sexual favours.

Every time I tell a mate I’m doing a story on cryptocurrency, they invariably ask me the same two questions: should they invest their own hard-earned money, and which cryptocurrency will get them a Lamborghini/yacht/island quickest?

In a 60 Minutes online exclusive, reporter Liz Hayes quizzed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his relationship with the unpredictable Twitter aficionado and US president Donald Trump ahead of their meeting at the White House Friday.

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"There will always be outliers in any industry who will do things that go against the tide and the norm, and we don't wish to represent them."

The Local Government Association of Queensland is concerned that increased clearing would lead to more sediment during floods which would damage water treatment plants, infrastructure, as well as the health of fisheries.

"The allowance of self-assessable clearing for the likelihood of natural disasters will result in significant unintended consequences," the association said.

National Parks Minister Steve Dickson promised there would be no tree clearing in "pristine" national parks but didn't offer the same protections to state forests.

He didn't want to "pre-empt" a review currently under way into how the government manages 12.5 million hectares of land.

Pressed in parliament, Mr Dickson claimed the Newman government would be remembered as "the greenest government you've ever seen", triggering laughter from opposition MPs.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Jackie Trad said the laws would lead to indiscriminate land clearing in high-conservation areas and a return to the forest wars of the last century.

The WWF-Australia said the government had broken an election promise to retain the laws.

The Wilderness Society fears native vegetation would be cleared, devastating threatened and endangered animals and plants.

Greens Queensland Senator Larissa Waters says pristine areas of Cape York will be opened up for logging, large-scale farming and dams.

"This seems like a deliberate attempt by Campbell Newman to undermine the current World Heritage nomination process," she said.